A state lawmaker says people who get cash assistance from the state should be required to perform community service.
Sen. Joe Hune says his bill would give people “some skin in the game.”
He gives some examples of what kinds of community service he has in mind:
“Helping out at a local library, your school district, your local government, highway cleanup, the local 4H program, MSU Extension, your local food bank, at the senior center,” he says.
Hune says he knows background checks would be required before people could work in many of the places he suggests, but he says the details would be left to the Michigan Department of Human Services.
The state already has a work, education and training requirement for cash assistance recipients.
Hune has also introduced a bill that would allow caseworkers to require drug testing of clients suspected of using drugs. Earlier efforts to require random testing have failed.
